The Marked Man
by TheRynPncho
Summary: Beckett's father has decided to follow his instincts, and protect Kate from any harm. This mean destroying the only thing putting her into grave danger. Richard Castle.  Rated M for future chapters
1. Chapter 1:  The Masked Killer

Castle grew still in front of the barrel of the gun. He stared in fear, as his demise grew near. "I was nice knowing you Mr. Castle." said the awfully familiar voice. He'd know that voice anywhere. Castle smirked, as if his thoughts finally caught up with him. "Well, I must say, it's nice to meet my end with such a familiar face." The man's eyes grew wide. "Any last words?" he said, coaxing the gun into action.. "Yes.' Castle said. "It was an honour to know you and your daughter Jim. Tell Beckett to solve this murder, will you?". The man, seemingly unsettled, lifted his mask. "Once again, I've underestimated you Richard. But looks like I wont be doing that ever again." He lifted his gun, then BANG! A bullet shot into the air, and made contact with flesh, but only, it was not Castle's, but Jim's. Castle froze as he saw the man fall to his knees, and directly behind him, was a stream of long brown hair, and a face running with tears. The only thing Castle could murmur was, "I'm sorry Kate."

The hospital was both loud, and silent. The calls of the nurses were heard all across the hallway, but the tense environment made if feel as though no sound could be heard. No breeze flowed through the hall, no sunlight flowed through the open window. All that was there was a genuine fear for people's lives, and today, Jim Beckett was one whom people feared for. Castle and Beckett sat tensely in the waiting room. They made no eye contact, but they knew what each other were thinking. There was no need to explain, with the concerned look on their faces. Castle was oblivious of the fact that Jim has just tried to kill him, and in fact, was concerned for him. He had never truly seen sadness in his life, but here it was, facing him right in the eye.

Castle was the type of person to have a certain bravado about him everywhere he went. He was ruggedly handsome, with a sterling smile no woman could resist. He was an author too, which assumingly meant that he was smart. This was an irresistible combination for most women, except one. The one which yawned next to him this very moment. For once in his life, Castle has let go of his superficial mannerisms, but instead, was more focused on reality.

Kate was the type to never get intimidated by others. She kept a cool and strong head, and never panicked when she saw a dead body. This was her job, and she knew that. Of course, a slender figure and enchanting eyes to match always helps when trying to do her job, but, she never did care about looks. All of her supposed 'beauty' was natural. Kate grew tired in the waiting room, and decided to fall asleep, and try to organise her thoughts on what she'd just done half an hour ago.

Hours passed, but Castle stayed awake. He looked down, to see Beckett fast asleep on his lap. The smiled. After all that had happened, she needed some rest. "You can go see him now." a nurse suddenly said. He looked up, as she beckoned him inside Jim's room. Castle did not want to disturb Kate from her slumber, but he felt as though this was necessary, considering the situation. He slowly shook her into an awake state, and they got up and walked into the hospital room, sided by side.

"I just don't understand why." Kate said, as she clenched her fathers hands tightly. Jim lay lay peacefully, as the two of them sat quietly. The beeping of the heart rate monitor filled the room, but other than that, not much else could be heard. Then finally, Castle said "It's no use questioning it now. What's happened has happened." "Well I can't just forget about it Castle!" Kate replied angrily. 'He tried to kill you! My own father tried to kill you Castle! That's something that I can't forget about." The banter continued for a few more minutes, then, silence. Once again, they had finally decided to focus on Jim, who was finally starting to regain consciousness. "I'd better get out of here." Castle said as he stood up and straightened his shirt. Kate said nothing as he walked out of the room, with nothing but sheer shock in his head.

"Is he dead?" Jim questioned aggressively. Kate simply sat there, pretending to not hear him. "How've you been doing?" "Is he dead?" Jim questioned once again. "If you want to know so badly, no, he isn't dead." Jim slumped in his bed. He grew silent, and decided that he would try to fall asleep again, but Kate was not about to just let him off the hook. "Why did you do it? You know I'm a cop, why?" "Because I wanted to protect you!" Jim replied. "Protect me? Here are the facts, you tried to kill someone and now I have to arrest you. I've already lost mom, and I didn't want to lose you too. You just don't understand how hard it is." Kate began to develop tears in her eyes. "Oh Katie, losing Johanna was hard for me too. I didn't want to lose you as well. It's just, Rick was putting you into too much danger with those damn books of his. I just wanted you to be safe." The room grew silent once more, as the two just stared at each other intently, hoping to find an answer they wanted to hear.

Castle fumbled with his keys at the front door. He tried to find the one which opened his apartment, but he could not stop thinking about the events of the past few hours. His thoughts were then interrupted by a squeal and a hug. "DAD!" cried Alexis, bringing her father close into her arms. "Where have you been? We've been so worried? Who were you with? Did something happen? Are you OK?" Alexis said in quick succession. Castle didn't answer, but instead, just sat on his couch, and stared into blank space. He then heard the soft sobs of her daughter. He hushed her daughter softly, and clutched her in his arms. "I'm fine" he said, "and that's all that matters."

Martha came running down the stairs. "Richard! Where have you been! We were about to call the precinct to see if you were OK. Castle sat them both at the dinner table, and told them all that had happened last night. He told them every little detail, which forced him to relive the ordeal once more. Afterwards, Alexis and Martha just stopped, in sheer amazement. They then decided Castle needed some rest, so they ordered him to go to his bed. He usually would not oblige to an order such as this, but considering the circumstances, he thought it might be for the best.

"They're out to get him Katie." Jim said to a drowsy Katherine Beckett. "Please don't tell me that means what I think it means." "I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you." Kate repeatedly questioned who he had sent to kill Castle, but after a few attempts, she knew that she needed to get to Castle, and now. She ran out of the hospital, into her car, a drove for uptown, where Castle was probably fast asleep, attempting to forget the events of yesterday.


	2. Chapter 2: Shattered Glass

Sorry for the long wait guys! I just got a little bit lazy on uploading fanfics! Hopefully I've found my rhythm, and that I'll be uploading at least once every fortnight from now on. Again, apologies are due, but to those few reading this, thanks! And I hope you keep reading this until it ends.

* * *

><p>Castle lay in his bed, not getting a wink of sleep. His near death experience was inconceivable, and even though he acted smug at the time, it was his way of defending himself. In truth, he could have died from shock rather than being shot, but lucky for him, Beckett was there to save him. Staring down the barrel of a gun wasn't new to him. In fact, he made his living on describing the very scenario. He thought he understood that death was a very likely part of his research, but, he guessed that the fact that it was Beckett's own father which tried to kill him was the thing which bothered him the most about the events of the previous night. "I'll go down to the precinct today, write up a report, and forget all about it." Castle murmured to himself as he got out of bed. Then, the next thing he saw frightened the living daylights out of him.<p>

Three masked men came crashing through his window, but, what he feared the most were the guns they held in their hands. He screamed out, hoping that Martha or Alexis would hear his plea for help, but then, something strange happened. Out of fear Castle stepped in front of the door, but, the three men left him. They grabbed his laptop and simply jumped back out the window. Castle had no idea, but this was bigger than just a murder plot. Much bigger.

Kate ran up the stairs of Castle's building. She knew that if she was just a second too late, she'd be accompanying the lifeless body of Richard Castle to the morgue. Tears ran down her face as the thought started to sink in. She didn't want Castle to die. She didn't know why, but all she knew was that if he did, she wouldn't be able to live with herself. Finally getting to the right floor, she furiously knocked at the door. "Please answer." she repeatedly thought. The door creaked open, and she was greeted by a friendly face. "Beckett! We heard about last night. What happened?" Martha questioned. "Not right now Martha. Where's Castle?" "In his room I think. We heard a cacophony up there before, so I presume he's just up to his old experiments." Martha replied innocently. Beckett explained the situation, and immediately, Martha let her in, and they ran up the stairs, and barged into Castle's room. What they found was certainly relieving, but unexpected nonetheless.

Castle lay in a sea of shattered glass. He collapsed from the sheer shock of what had just happened. This whole scene was almost surreal to him. The next thing he heard was the most comforting voice he'd heard in his life. It was Beckett, asking whether he was OK. "I'm fine. I think." said Castle, unsure of what else to say. "What happened here?" Beckett said, as Castle started to get up from the floor. "Well, lets see, I got up, three men came crashing through the window, took my laptop, and jumped back out." Even though he saw Beckett was worried out of her wits, he found it comforting that she was the one here. "How did you know to came here?" Castle questioned. "It's my father" Beckett said, "He's set some people out to kill you." "Well, if that's the best they've got, then I'm perfectly safe." Castle said smugly. He invited Beckett down for some breakfast, and soon after, they left for the precinct.

Castle knew that Beckett thought he was fine, but the truth is, he wasn't. Both the event of yesterday and this morning have shaken him. It's made him think about how his life really is short, and more important, how important life is to him now, with Alexis, Martha, and Beckett all involved in his life. Although he was very confused, he knew one thing, he didn't want to die. "Anything wrong Castle?" Beckett asked him as the car came to a halt. He wanted to tell her everything. How he was scared, how he started to truly come to realise his mortality, but most of all, how he was falling for her. But, after all that, all the came out of his mouth was, "Nothing. I'm fine."

"Walk in, right the report, get out" Castle murmured to himself. He was using this as a mantra, repeating it to himself every so often, until he was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Hey Beckett, what's wrong with pretty boy over here?" questioned Victoria. Victoria Gates, the new director of the 12th precinct of the New York Police Department after the death of Roy Montgomery. She was sleek, but tough. Many thought she was a man in a woman's body, especially after she specifically asked to be called 'sir'. She used to despise Castle, but now, just simply tolerated him. "Don't let the media get you down Castle. You're part of my team now, so don't let me down." "Media?" Castle asked curiously. "What media? Was there something about me on the news?" "see for yourself" said Gates as she clicked the television on.

"Transcripts or Richard Castle's rumoured book, 'Sizzling Heat', has been released to the public today. It is reportedly unfinished, so do we have an information leak on our hands? From what we can tell you, Nikki Heat can be found in very compromising positions in the book, and its as if Castle has switched his genre, from crime, to erotica. No comment yet from Mr. Castle, but it looks like this next book could be the 'sizzling' best-seller of the season. Back to you, Ross."

Castle couldn't believe his ears. Writing erotic fan-fiction of his own books was a hobby, not a living. He thought deeply on how anyone could have gotten a hold of it. Then it hit him. His laptop had just been taken earlier this morning, with this mock-up book on it's hard drive. He didn't know what to do, but most importantly, he didn't want Beckett to find out. It was unfortunate for him, that Beckett had been standing behind him the whole time.

"I can explain everything" Castle stuttered. "No need." Beckett said. "Our main concern right now is how we're going to keep you safe. Because now, it looks like they aren't just trying to kill you. They're trying to besmirch your reputation, and ruin you life." "Why would anyone do that? Why not just kill me. They had the opportunity to." "Because." Beckett replied. "Because they want to see you squirm, and then when you have nothing left. When you're at you're most vulnerable, they'll kill you." Castle pondered his situation, but, also feared it. He feared of what would come next. Was this just the beginning of all the torture? Or will they kill him then and there? He didn't know, but all he knew was that he was more scared than he'd ever been in his life.


End file.
